PAN, October 22, 2012

Zabul residents protest against NATO troops

Beheaded bodies of the tailors were dumped in a desert before being blown up

By Bashir Ahmad Naadem

Hundreds of residents on Monday staged a protest in Qalat, the capital of southern Zabul province, against nighttime raids by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers.

Photo: PAN

One of the organisers and a member of the Wolesi Jirga from the province, Abdul Qadir Qalatwal, told Pajhwok Afghan News the provincial government was involved in corruption and did not pay attention to resolving people’s problems.

He asked the central government to transfer the provincial officials as soon as possible. Nearly 1,000 people blocked the Kandahar-Kabul highway in Qalat against the foreign troops who arrested two tailors during a raid a few days back.

Beheaded bodies of the tailors were dumped in a desert before being blown up, the parliamentarian alleged.

The governor’s spokesman, Sharifullah Nasiri, confirmed the deaths and said they had sought clarity from the NATO-led force.

Meanwhile, ISAF confirmed the arrest of several individuals in Zabul on Oct. 20, when they were spotted attempting to emplace an improvised explosive device. “And then testing positive for explosives residue, the detainees were turned over to Afghan police.”